It’s a fitting title for this collection of tunes from the very eclectic singer and percussionist from Burkina Faso West Africa. It’s music from the 70’s and you can hear everything from salsa to hard funk, blues, Nigerian Afro – Beat, Congolese soukous and more traditional Manding and Dioula music of the region. There’s even a Latin tune recorded in New York entitled Yamba, Balake’s take on African Salsa that preaches the dangers of marijuana. The music was recorded in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Lagos and the tracks have been taken from numerous albums, though some of the recordings are quite primitive, clearly only recorded with one mic. Whilst you’d think this would dilute the power of the music the opposite is true, Balake has an assertive vocal style and the musicianship is simply awesome. He’s at his best when the bassline snakes its way into the mix with the more funk or Afro – beat tunes, though Balake, as Senor Eclectico attests, is one artist who you never know just what he would do next.
-Bob Baker Fish
